DALLAS, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Going to the doctor’s office can be extremely scary for small children.
A group of students at a local university aims to help them be more comfortable with medical procedures.
Eyewitness News Education Reporter Crystal Cranmore has more.
What may sometimes be considered overwhelming for young children ended up being a day of fun for these pre-school students.
About two dozen kids were exposed to medical imaging equipment at Misericordia University.
The lesson of the day was..learning about your bones!
It’s all part of the university’s annual “Bone Academy”.
Students in the University’s radiographic procedures course teamed up with the children helping them with numerous bone-related activities including testing out some of the equipment.
Four year old Emma Tanner was part of the group.
The program aims to ease kids’ fear of radiographic procedures in the event they have to go to a doctor.
“If they get hurt, and they are scared about it, they will know exactly what’s going on. Like if they are getting an image, they’ll know they are just getting a picture taken of the bone” Said Jade Broody,
The program also gives students a chance to learn how to work with young patients
“I learned there minds will get distracted very quickly..learned to make it fun for them ” Added Broody.
Lorie Zelna, chair of the Medical Imaging Department says the program is unique to this area.
“The only other university across the country that is performing this kind of service learning project is in Ohio”
And it’s based off of the one here.
School leaders hope to expand the program to other schools.
The Bone Academy program is in its fifth year and Misericordia University plans on continuing the event.
